Kirsty,
I had a cervical stitch placed in at 13 weeks to prevent IC.
I had my first appointment with my obst an IC specialist at 10 weeks then went back the night before surgery to check if bubs was still viable. I was admitted to hospital that morning and given the choice of epidural or GA. I took GA as never had an epi before and was alittle frightened. After 16 weeks they prefer you to have an epidual. They use a material that is similar to a leather shoe lace and place a stitch as high as they possibly can to the uterus as it has better results. I had slight bleeding afterwards just spotting really and was kept in hospital overnight to check for infection. I was given some mild pain killers but really didnt need them and was discharged the next morning. I took it really easy for that week and was given instructions not to lift anything inc children. I had a review scan done at radiology to check position of stitch which was ideally placed and from then on I went and had scans done before every visit to check for shortening. It apparently can shorten right down to the stitch but I was lucky enough to not have any..after 2 prev losses to PROM for that reason.
At 37-38 weeks they give you another Epidual and take the stitch out, which can either prompt labour straight away or sent home to wait for labour pains.We decided that in my case that a c-sect was the best option as I had to travel 1 and half to get back to hospital and IC patients tend to labour quickly
Good luck
Bec